Mauritania's ruling party wins majority vote

Union for the Republic secures parliamentary majority in second round of polls, boycotted by many opposition parties.

23 Dec 2013 03:48 GMT

This latest election was seen as a test of strength for President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz [AFP]

Mauritania's ruling Union for the Republic Party (UPR) has won a ruling majority in parliament after a second round of legislative elections, issued results show.

The UPR party entered Saturday's election with a secured victory in the November 23 first round after a boycott by several opposition parties - who insisted that they would not be fair - in the mainly Muslim republic, a former French colony on the west coast of the Sahara desert.

According to Sunday's results, which decided an outstanding 26 seats, the UPR held 74 seats in the 147-member National Assembly.

The opposition held 37 seats, 16 of them taken by an Islamist party, Tawassul, participating in elections for the first time after since 2007 after a ban was lifted.

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Tawassul, whose ideology mirrors the Muslim Brotherhood, has said that the election was marred by fraud.

Following independence from France in 1960 and the ensuing one-party government of Moktar Ould Daddah, deposed in 1978, Mauritania had a series of military rulers until its first multi-party election in 1992.

This latest election was seen as a test of strength for President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz five years after he came to power in a coup and four years after he won a widely contested vote.

Mauritania is seen as strategically important in the fight against groups linked to al-Qaeda within its own borders, as well as in neighbouring Mali and across Africa's Sahel region.

Mauritania, a country of 3.2 million people, has reserves of iron ore, copper and gold and is seeking to encourageexploration in its offshore oil and gas sector.